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April 3, 2018 - CGRS is excited to announce the release of our new practice advisory, Immigration Relief for DACA Recipients Based on Fear of Return, now available online. With litigation on the rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and legislation on a permanent solution for DACA recipients still pending, asylum and related humanitarian relief may be a primary pathway to secure lawful status for some DACA recipients. Our new advisory is designed to help legal services providers, including non-lawyers, screen DACA recipients for eligibility for asylum and related relief based on potential fear of return to their countries of origin. The advisory proceeds in two parts. Part I provides an overview of: the current status and implications of the rescission of the DACA program; the U.S. immigration system as relevant to applicants for asylum and related relief; and common asylum claims and conditions in the top countries of origin of DACA recipients (Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras). Part II discusses eligibility requirements for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) and special considerations for DACA recipients, including overcoming the one-year filing deadline for asylum applications and addressing any prior orders of removal from the United States.
We are also pleased to announce the release of our practice advisory, Conducting Country Conditions Research for Asylum, Withholding of Removal, and Convention against Torture Claims, which provides practical guidance on obtaining country conditions documentation to support fear of return claims. This advisory: (1) describes the purpose of country conditions research and documentation; (2) discusses how to research country conditions information, providing an overview of sources, search terms, and time parameters; (3) explains how to evaluate country conditions documentation for inclusion as evidentiary submissions in asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT claims; and (4) provides guidance on how to organize country conditions sources in an evidentiary submission. If you are an attorney, legal professional, or law student representative and would like to request a copy of this advisory to aid you in your client’s asylum case, simply submit a CGRS technical assistance request online. If you have already submitted a request for your case, please email us with your CGRS case number at CGRS-TA@uchastings.edu.
Photo from Kevin Lamarque, Reuters.
